Parasites Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Thing

The film identifies the parasite attaching itself to its prey in two manners. The first is to use tendrils to bond to its prey, then adopting that prey's body as a form of womb from which it creates a copy of its victim. The second method, equally ingenious, is to infect the cells of its prey and then take over the victim's body. What Carpenter does so cleverly here is that he doesn't inform his viewer what happens to the prey once it's been attacked by the parasite. This is left to the viewer's imagination - does the prey die immediately allowing the parasite to take over a deceased body, does the prey lose consciousness while it is being assimilated or is the prey totally aware of what is happening to itself but has no control or way to stop it?

Carpenter has listed the film as one of his favourites, despite it being a box office flop. It is argued that it failed in the theatres as it was competing against "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" which, unlike "The Thing", portrayed aliens in a positive light. Since its conversion to video and DVD it has garnered a large cult following.

"The Being" is a 1983 film by Jackie Kong and "Endangered Species", released in 1982, was directed by Alan Randolph. Two versions of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" have been released, in 1956 (directed by Don Siegel) and 1978 (directed by Phillip Kaufman).

Answer: Slither

This is a particularly nasty little worm that does not mind if its host is human or animal. Whilst it takes over the host's brain it doesn't destroy the prey's personality, however, the body does transform, sprouting numerous slimy tentacles. Two of these tentacles are used to procreate with other victims. The host will develop a ravenous appetite for raw meat and its body will begin to swell until it bursts and, in the process, releases hundreds of new born worms.

"Slither" was widely panned on its release by critics who cried that it closely resembled Fred Dekker's 1986 B-Movie classic "Night of the Creeps".

"The Deadly Spawn" (1983) is directed by Douglas McKeown, "Body Snatchers" (1993) by Abel Ferrara and "Xtro" (1983) by Harry Bromley Davenport.

Answer: The Puppet Masters

Though described as a slug these creatures seem to be flatter in appearance and are more akin to a skate or a ray. It uses small hooks on its underside to latch onto the spine of its victim and then penetrates into the host's brain with a tentacle like appendage. From here it is able to read the victim's thoughts, access their memories and control both their functions and emotions.
Each slug is predominantly made up of brain tissue and represents a small part of a larger alien being called the 'hive'. To aid its control over its prey the slug will secrete some form of chemical into the host. This also has the effect of increasing its target's temperature, adrenalin production and strength. Unfortunately it also accelerates the burn-out rate of the victim. When the slug is detached from its human it reverts to an egg shape which makes it easier to be moved.

'The Brain Eaters' is a 1958 movie by Bruno VeSota, 'The Stuff' was directed by Larry Cohen in 1985 and 'Splinter', directed by Toby Wilkins, was released in 2008.

Answer: Screaming

An associate of the doctor discovers the doctor's work and plots to kill his mute wife with fear - as she cannot speak she also can't scream to save herself. However, during the autopsy, the parasite escapes and proceeds to create havoc.

Apparently this little insect like bug lives in all of us. When we experience fear this insectoid feeds upon it and grows exponentially - the greater the fear the larger it grows. When we unleash a primal scream we relinquish our fear and the parasite will shrink back to the size of bacteria. What is never explained in the film is how this parasite manages to hide its body mass when it grows - in the film it grows to be the size of a small lobster before escaping the body of its host - or why a parasite would wish to destroy its host.

Never short of a gimmick, director William Castle, shot the film in black and white and inserted one scene in colour - the one that contained a bath full of blood. At one point it is depicted in the movie that the Tingler has escaped and is running loose in the theatre. At this point the audience is encouraged to scream to release any fear they may be feeling. Castle would plant screamers within the theatre and went so far as to purchase army surplus vibrators that were placed under selected seats in the theatre to give a tingling sensation.

Answer: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Following an explosion nearby, the planet Ceti Alpha VI, shifts its orbit and turns from a lush haven to a windswept desert planet. The Ceti eel is the only native creature able to adapt to this sudden change in environment and survive. A burrowing animal it would incubate its larvae in between the plates of its carapace. The young, upon emerging, would seek a larger animal to act as its host. It would enter through the host's ear and wrap itself around the cerebral cortex. In the short term this leaves the host susceptible to suggestion but over time, as the young eel matures, it would cause extreme pain to the host, leading to madness and, ultimately, death.

Khan, played by Ricardo Montalban, uses the eels to capture the USS Reliant in a bid to ambush the starship USS Enterprise and destroy Kirk in the process.

"Star Trek II" (1982) was directed by Nicholas Meyer, "Star Trek III" (1984) by Leonard Nimoy and "Insurrection" (1998) by Jonathan Frakes. "Space Seed" (1967) is the television episode in which Khan is first introduced and exiled to the planet Ceti Alpha VI.

Answer: Dark City

John Murdoch, played by Sewell, wakes up in a hotel room with the brutalised corpse of a woman. He has no memories, no idea who he is or what he has done. He is being chased by both the police and 'The Strangers'.
The Strangers are an ancient race. They are also dying, though as to why this is so is not totally clear in the film. They are conducting their experiments in the hope that they may find vital clues that would lead to their survival. These shadowy figures use the bodies of the deceased to move around, are telepathically linked and have a collective memory. With a process they call 'The Tuning' they can change the size and the shape of the world around them. They can also stop time and alter reality. They are however, terrified of both water and light hence, the city remains in perpetual darkness.

"The City of Lost Children" (1995) was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro and "eXistenZ" is a 1999 film by David Cronenberg. Don Taylor directed a version of "The Island of Dr Moreau" in 1977 and it was revisited by John Frankenheimer in 1996.

Answer: The Hidden

This alien parasite is unusual in that he has no designs on destroying the Earth or sucking it dry. He is basically a mean and evil 'dude' with a lust for power who has landed here to have a good time. He graduates rather quickly from car-jacking to armed robbery, murder and, eventually, political terrorism. All the while he is being pursued by an FBI agent (Kyle MacLachlan) who turns out to be an alien policeman.
This evil parasite has the ability to transfer from one body to another, be it human or animal. It has the power to continue to utilise the host's body despite the victim being deceased. Interestingly while it resides in the host it appears to be impervious to harm and only when it leaves that body to transfer to another does it become vulnerable. Even more interesting is that there are some subtle differences between the abilities of MacLachlan's parasite and those of the evil one. MacLachlan's policeman can identify the enemy while it is in another's body but this gift does not seem to be evident within the enemy. Additionally, MacLachlan's creature can sustain its host indefinitely but the enemy appears to destroy its victim in a matter of days. Whether this is a flaw in the enemy's design or simply a character trait is not expanded upon in the film.

"Ghoulies" is a 1983 film directed by Charles Band and it revolves around demons being summoned by devil worshippers. Sam Raimi's (1981) "The Evil Dead" involves evil spirits being released by an audiotape and "The Toxic Avenger" (1985), directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, centres around the hero falling into a vat of toxic waste to emerge as an enhanced mutant.

Answer: The Faculty

This bug is a highly mobile parasite and is another that enters the human body through the ears, though getting past those I-Pod earpieces must have been a nightmare. They need the warm, moist environment that the human body provides in order to reproduce and to enhance this they render their hosts extremely thirsty. They have strong regenerative powers, are able to alter the personality of the host and can recognise other hosts so that they can infect those that have not yet succumbed. However, they have two weaknesses - a strong diuretic will kill them and they are linked telepathically to their queen mother. Kill the queen and you kill them all.

Hartnett and Wood form part of a group of six students at the school who are not initially infected and hatch a plan to save the school and the Earth.

"The Arrival" is a 1996 film directed by David N Twohy, "Invaders From Mars" (1986) was directed by Tobe Hooper and Ron Link directed the 1987 (nowhere near a classic) "Zombie High".

Answer: Shivers

Unlike most of the parasites showcased here this one appears to be a man made creature rather than one from outer space. The good doctor's experiments can, at best, be described as unorthodox. The organism that he creates to assist with the transplants is also supposed to allow humans to get back in touch with their flesh and become more aware of its instincts. Instead he has created a life force that serves as both an aphrodisiac and a sexually transmitted disease. Once it gets inside a body the parasite generates an irrepressible primal lust within its host. The parasite here is driven by its will to survive and reproduce, escaping into a new host through any opening it can find while the humans are in the throes of sexual contact.

"The Ruins" (2008) is directed by Carter Smith, "Strange Invaders" (1983) by Michael Laughlin and "The Creeping Flesh" is a 1971 film directed by Freddie Francis.

Answer: Alien

The crew of the space ship 'Nostromo' are stalked by an alien creature called a xenomorph that has hatched inside the body of one of the craft's team members.

The first stage in the xenomorph's life cycle is the egg, which is followed by the facehugger. The facehugger leaps from the egg and uses eight tentacle-like extensions to latch onto its victim's face. It also has a segmented tail that it wraps around the victim's windpipe, restricting its breathing and forcing it to inhale the embryo. This embryo is then injected by a tube on the underside of the facehugger. There do not appear to be any visible eyes on the facehugger so the assumption is that it possesses some form of inbuilt sensor mechanism to identify the proximity of its prey. Once gestation is complete, the facehugger appears to have outlived its purpose and dies.
The final two xenomorph stages are chestburster and adult. There are a number of different versions of the adult xenomorph.

"Forbidden World" is a 1982 film directed by Allan Holzman, "Dark Star" directed by John Carpenter, was released in 1974 and "The Terror Within" (1988) was directed by Thierry Notz.